This is the official website of the Gösting Castle Preservation Society, Austria’s oldest association of that kind. The website provides information about the Gösting Castle’s 900 years of rich history and about its development as well as its special significance as a building. A main concern of the website is the correct presentation of all of the society’s issues.

Setting an example for many other societies of its kind, the Gösting Castle Society has pursued one single important and purely idealistic goal from the very beginning of its activities in the year 1925: the careful restoration and preservation of the castle’s precious medieval walls. The impressive Gösting Castle represents a cultural treasure of enormous significance which cannot be appreciated highly enough. In order to document and protect this excellent proof of our ancestors’ achievements and skills and in order to save this exceptional, internationally acknowledged cultural value, the Gösting castle’s ruins have to be cared for in a proud, competent and responsible manner. Any measure altering or destroying the historic quality of the premises has to be taken as a sign of an ignorant and irreparable infringement of Austria’s historical and cultural heritage.

For many centuries, the venerable Gösting castle has been looking down from its prominent observation point of about 700ft above the city of Graz and the valley of the river Mur below. From down there, the awe-inspiring castle looks especially impressive, dominating all of the northern part of Graz. Gösting is one of the oldest and most important ruined castles of Austria, still showing much of its original structure and building stock from the second half of the 12^th century. A lightening stroke in 1723 marked the beginning of a series of severe damages leading to the castle’s decay. Taking care of the castle since 1925, the Gösting Castle Preservation Society has been trying eagerly to cautiously protect and restore the building and research it scientifically.

A visit to Gösting Castle combined with a stroll through the beautiful nature of northern Graz and a rewarding view over the city, as well as a stay at the castle’s charming tavern with its cosy atmosphere will please locals and tourists alike. Experience yourself the special fascination and beauty of this attraction and its surroundings – all so close to Graz. 

Current situation

The situation in respect to the castle’s buildings and their preservation has, unfortunately, still not changed for the better. The owner continues to show no signs of genuine interest towards a professional and skilled preservation of the ruins:

The few, rather inappropriate “repair” works which were ordered by the owner over the years, have, according to the Federal Monuments Office, evidently caused more harm than good for the castle. Renovating measures for those sections of the castle which are particularly endangered and which would be especially important to be worked on, continue to be ignored. Unfortunately, this does not come as a surprise as the castle’s owner has never taken care of these issues in the 18 years of his ownership. He has never been interested in the essential, profound and suitable input and support offered to him by the Gösting Castle Society free of charge.

The following areas are particularly threatened by decay: the apse’s foundations, the area above the toilet facilities which have started to crumble years ago, the base of the donjon, and the donjon ceiling’s weather tightness. The continuously bad state of the inner path is yet another clear sign of the owner’s lack of interest in providing an appropriate and clean public access to his castle.

The lush growth all around and inside the castle is another area of serious concern: If this kind of wild vegetation is not stopped in time, it will soon be impossible to see the castle at all. What makes the situation even worse is that this kind of untamed, straggling growth, roots in particular, cause severe and irreversible damage to the castle’s walls and foundations.

The following pictures illustrate the sad situation on Gösting castle as it has been over the last few years and demonstrate that the owner hardly shows any interest in keeping the castle well maintained.